We recently connected with Josh Tetzlaff and have shared our conversation below.
Josh, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
In elementary school, fourth grade I won an award for painting, and my art was placed in the hospital where I was born, that was the last art class I would take until I got into the art program at APSU (Austin Peay State University) but before that when I was a young adult, I found the movie Pollock in a 5$ bin at Walmart. I went home and watched it and afterward, I was so inspired I drove back to Walmart to buy paints, brushes, and a pack of canvases. when I got home, I started playing with my new toys and loved experimenting with the different marks I could make. I started drawing in a sketchbook at work and painting at home I was in a few bands at the time that practiced at my house so I inspired others to take up the brush as well so I began teaching my friends how to paint and having conversations about what they could mean all these things came together and I started to pursue a degree in art. in hopes of following my mother’s path of being a teacher I figured it’s in my blood. when I first started, my major was in art ed, and we taught little kids basic pointless projects. I hated it so much that I changed my major because I wanted to teach people who actually wanted to learn not be a babysitter for kids who were forced to participate in the lesson. it was my painting teacher Suta Lee who made me want to teach college-level painting. He was so funny and when he picked up a brush for a demo my mind was blown at the way he made it look effortless. In my first painting class, I just happened to have a show at a local music venue, and I invited Suta to come see my work. He thought that learning in school would taint the unique style I was playing with. He felt that the self-taught artist has a more unique approach than a university academic painter. boy was he right I abandoned my old style to pursue something more about my identity instead of just playing with aesthetics. once I came out as gay, I jumped headfirst into the subject, and I had so many people thanking me for being brave. See I grew up in Tennessee when don’t ask don’t tell was still a thing back then the word gay was used to describe something you didn’t like. it was really these people coming up to me and thanking me for opening the door to the queer conversation in art at the school that really pushed me to pursue it as far as I could take it. it felt like something way bigger than me, and people actually responded to it though it did alienate my viewer and fan demographic but at least I was making something I loved and challenging my skills. to be honest it was never about money only making. it still is to this day I want you to know this because money ruins all good things when it is the goal. I found this out the hard way and not enough artists claim this idea, but inspiration is far more valuable than if a painting sells. My artistic path grew until it was just about making art because with each creation my personal philosophy on art or just who I am would be revealed with each piece I made. Art became a path of self-discovery.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a maker. The subjects I have researched the most in my art are gay culture and optical illusions. sexual energy is linked to the creative process, so it is very important that I feel attracted to my art because it keeps me wanting more of it. optical illusions came later after researching topics from my past that could enhance my art today, I loved optical illusions when I was a kid, so I learned how to make an image move though it was only in my head. I used to sort of joke with people that if they saw the background warp and move around then the artwork was turning them gay. this is obviously a joke but one that hits home for me because when I was young, gay people didn’t have it as easy as they do today (in certain places that is) and people were always trying to blame something or someone else for “making” someone gay. I think my newer body of work is a sort of gift to a gay person the visual distortion of the optical illusion brings a youthful feeling to the viewer playful and nostalgic while the homoerotic images are like a flag saying I see you, I see your beauty and there is no reason to be ashamed of who you are. But what I make doesn’t define me as a whole I am more than the sum of my parts. I have been studying the mystical arts since I was 16 and have been seeking to bridge the gaps between logic and feeling to find a way of lifting a person up while our world attempts to tear us down. I want to be a light in the dark that brings hope to those who have fallen in the darkness. this has led me to pursue a manifesto that is about making art, being queer, and philosophical insights into what it means to be human, in this time period now. Ultimately artists are problem solvers, and I am no exception one of the best things I bring to the table at any job is creative thinking seeing ideas others didn’t consider to be possible. Thinking outside of the box has always been easy for me and so I use it as best as I can. Seeing patterns where others see none has made me come across as rather conspiratorial. truth is, you are probably reading this thinking this guy is a nut job and you might be right, or you might be wrong it is not my job to judge you nor yours to judge me. we all reflect each other and what I want you to become aware of is who you really are before you put that mask on you call you.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think the comment I hear the most about art from non-creatives is that they wish they could draw, and it always makes me a bit angry because they seem to think it is some gifted talent that I didn’t have to work for. when someone says something like “natural talent” or “gifted” it diminishes the hard work and mental labor it took to learn how to draw or just make art in general. it is insulting in a way to downplay the efforts of an individual to pursue their dreams. it’s not rocket science it’s just practice, you don’t go to the gym, work out one time, and expect to look like a bodybuilder. art and pretty much everything in the world’s human talents department work like this. you have to want it, you have to go after it, get it, and let nothing stand in your way, as well as battle with doubt. I think artists like gay people are code-switchers they have to balance two worlds in order to survive. the creative side moves in mysterious sometimes it might be divine inspiration but most of the time inspiration can be seen as a luxury in art, but it is research and constant questioning that leads to inspirational moments, and it relies on an artist to take that step and act on it otherwise it is lost to the void of the mind. we all have the same potential it’s just that some people get brainwashed into thinking a certain way and it’s hard for them to see it any other way. I think if someone wishes they could draw they should do the research, do the work, and draw every day, and as time goes by, they will begin to see the results of their efforts just like a bodybuilder in the gym. don’t skip the work it is what defines you because you are sculpting your reality and non-creatives let others define their reality for them.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
when I was in my undergrad program at APSU I was hanging out with a friend at night and I hadn’t eaten since morning and was feeling a bit weak, so I sat down on a step in my driveway. I told my friend how I felt and that I was going to go inside and eat something really quick, so I stood up real quick turned around, and blacked out. I fell face-first into the concrete fracturing my skull. then I rolled off the porch I was lying on and landed on my shoulder. In my blackout, I saw a golden being with alchemical symbols all over its body they said, “This was happening to make me a better person” They took my hand and pulled me up and my friend was there pulling me out of the flower bed asking if I was okay. I was not okay I had to be taken to the hospital I had a fractured skull and a torn rotator cuff on my right side. it was so painful I thought my art career would be over. I began researching supplements that could help and still went to school. the hardest class for me was painting because I not only had to adapt to using my left hand for mixing but also paint with my right hand while bracing with my left hand and it was so painful the whole time. I pushed through it even though my teacher Suta told me it was okay if I didn’t finish the project because I had already done more than was asked of me. I am relentless and stubborn when I want something so I kept painting and learned everything I could because if I was painting it distracted me from the doubt that was creeping into my consciousness. Even now I still know that I am capable of conquering my fear and my strength is more than physical it was work, to get my arm back to not feel pain when I painted. I believe that suffering really did define me that day because it would have been easy to give in, but I didn’t I pushed back and took back my body and made my life what it is today. I still feel the pain, but I don’t let it define me, I don’t let it control and limit me, I am more than my pain, I am more than this mortal body.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @josh_evans_tetzlaff
- Facebook: Josh_evans_tetzlaff
Image Credits
painted by josh evans tetzlaff